Madres paralelas

Greetings again from the darkness. As a devoted follower of films by Almodovar for more than 35 years, I still find myself enchanted by his stories, his visuals, his characters, and his consistency in writing complex and engaging parts for women. Oscar winning writer-director Pedro Almodovar's last film, PAIN AND GLORY (2019) may be considered his semi-autobiographical masterpiece, but this latest proves he still has much to say, and will do so with his customary flair.

I often write about a filmmaker 'delivering' a film, and in this case, Almodovar literally serves up dueling deliveries in the maternity ward. The births are edited for a bit of comedic relief, but the sequence also makes the all-important point about the connection between the two mothers. Oscar winner Penelope Cruz stars as Janis, a woman pushing 40 who has a fling with married Arturo (Israel Elejalde). He's the forensic archeologist working on the project to excavate a mass grave from the Spanish Civil War rumored to hold the remains of relatives of Janis, as well as others from the community.

While awaiting the birth of her child, Janis meets her roommate Ana (a terrific Milena Smit), a 17-year-old who is much less thrilled than Janis at the thought of becoming a mother. The two women of different ages, different attitudes, and different, yet similar, situations give birth on the same day at the same time - each becoming a single mother. The exhausted women have no clue of what is to cause their lives to become intertwined and push the story forward. While in recovery, we are introduced to each women's support. Janis' lifelong friend Elena (played by Almodovar favorite Rossy de Palma) bursts into the room (and onto the screen) in a flash of color and smile. On the other side, Ana's narcissist mother Teresa (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon) immediately begins recounting her latest audition, which could lead to the big break in her acting career. As an afterthought, she then asks about the babies. We learn so much in these few minutes.

This becomes the story of the two women and their babies, yet always hovering is a story about the history of the country, and the families affected by the Spanish Civil War atrocities. The story structure isn't seamless, but then neither is life ... especially of those impacted. Past and present have unbreakable links, as do the generations of strong females who carried on. As Janis pursues the archaeological dig, we contrast that with the self-centered Teresa who states, "I'm apolitical. My job is to please everyone." Of course, by the end, Janis, Ana, and Teresa have all grown as people after facing morally challenging dilemmas.

This is Penelope Cruz's 8th Almodovar film, and, to no one's surprise, she excels in the role of Janis. It's unfortunate that very few actors receive Oscar recognition for Foreign Language films because her work stands with that of any actor this year. Almodovar is a master, and proves time and again that melodrama is not a taboo approach to storytelling when handled properly. On display throughout is his trademark use of color - in clothes, cars, art, and yes, the hospital room. Even his closing credits are stylish. Frequent Almodovar collaborators include Production designer Antxon Gomez, composer Alberto Iglesias (heavy on the strings), and cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine ... and what a team they make. The film can be viewed as a tribute to (and reminder of) the history of Almodovar's beloved Spain. He even includes a fitting quote, "History refuses to shut its mouth", something he works to ensure.

Opens in select theaters on January 14, 2022.

There's a lot to enjoy about Parallel Mothers.

It has terrific performances, with Penelope Cruz stealing the show. The direction is so clean, crisp and stylish. It has a brilliant score.

The story is maybe the only area where I felt it was lacking. At times for me it was a little messy and had a few too many directions and prongs. There was a nice contrast in themes with the focus on the past set against new motherhood, but it was a little too disparate for me.

Despite this I did enjoy the story and film a lot. At its peak there were some gut wrenching emotional moments with razor sharp dialogue throughout.

The IMDb synopsis for 'Parallel Mothers' reads, "The story of two mothers who give birth the same day." I think this could use some work. It really doesn't sell the film at all. In fact it makes it sound painfully dull and uninteresting. You don't have to give anything away about the story. You just need to hint that there will be some reason for drama and to justify a film being made about this story.

The film is a strange one. There are some pretty serious things that happen, however the film seems to be doing its utmost to have characters under-react to everything. There is one particularly shocking moment in this film that I thought was going to trigger all kinds of hell. But it just kind of got an open-mouthed shock look for a little while and was then moved on from. They didn't even come back to it much at any point. There are numerous smaller occurrences like this too. It's very strange.

The drama was enough to carry a movie though and it did enough to keep me interested. The runtime pushed itself 15-20 minutes longer than needed. The whole epilogue sequence didn't really do anything for me and felt very unconnected to the rest of the film. There were better and more powerful ways they could have wrapped the film up for sure.

Penelope Cruz is very good as always. She has more than enough charm and charisma to carry a film by herself. She certainly payed a part in keeping the film afloat. This isn't one I'd go out of my way to recommend, but it's harmless and might be to some of your liking. 6/10.

Summary:

In this rather misunderstood film, Almodóvar consummates the audacity of associating the historical memory of the crimes of the Franco regime with a melodrama about intertwined motherhood, as intense as it is disturbingly contingent, tracing a perfect circle with identity at the center of the scene. The provocativeness of the film is made flesh in its protagonist Janis (a magnificent Penelope Cruz), a character subjected to tremendous dilemmas that express the dialectic, the contradictions and finally the synthesis between the private, the militant and the historical. And that Almodóvar does it, in a Spain that is witnessing the resurgence of the extreme right, is a declaration of principles.

Review:

Janis (Penelope Cruz) is a professional photographer. After a photo session for Arturo, a renowned forensic archaeologist (Israel Elejalde), she tries to interest him in the exhumation of Franco's victims buried in a mass grave in her hometown. Later, Janis, about to give birth, meets Ana, also in labor (Milena Smit), without suspecting that their destinies will be closely linked.

Undoubtedly, we are facing a film that is being quite misunderstood. Through an extremely intelligent and skillful script, Almodóvar has the audacity to intertwine the melodrama with the historical memory of the Franco regime. And he does it with a story about several intertwined motherhoods that are as contingent as they are assumed or abandoned, with identity at the center of the scene. The association that appears in the story between the intensity of maternal feeling, biology and chance is very disturbing.

The provocation of the film becomes flesh in Janis, a character subjected to tremendous dilemmas that express the dialectic, the contradictions and finally the synthesis between the private, the militant and the historical (dilemmas that Cruz expresses admirably through his gestures and his language bodily). Through her and the generational clash with Ana regarding historical memory, the director somehow updates and "everyday" a taboo and difficult topic for Spaniards even today, such as the Franco dictatorship and the impunity of its crimes.

Almodóvar has arrived as a filmmaker at an undeniable maturity, no longer interested in continuing to be an enfant terrible. Of course, this is not a comedy nor is it a choral story; the director cultivates a more relaxed style: he does not renounce melodrama (essential in his filmography) but he does renounce the tension and hubbub of his other films. He continues with his well-established handling of time lines, sometimes playing with the viewer by making him believe that some flashbacks are ellipses, for example. The fluidity of the narration is exemplary and avoids certain formalistic excesses and the somewhat pretentious structural sleights of several films from his last stage (a good example of this would be Bad Education), which created an emotional distance with the viewer. He always knows how to set up the camera and how and where to position his characters; he achieves beautiful effects with his fades that plunge the troubled Janis into the shadows at the end of some scenes.

In short, through the character of Janis, a new and great Almodovarian heroine, magnificently played by Penélope Cruz, and as noted above, Almodóvar carries out the operation of conflicting in a vibrant and moving way (at times close to a thriller) what private with the militant about a past that Spain has not finished processing and that it prefers to bury in oblivion. And that Almodóvar does it, with the forcefulness of the shovels and the bones, in a Spain that is witnessing the resurgence of the extreme right, is a declaration of principles.

Very good turn by Pedro Almodovar, one of his best films of the last years.

Its a very unpredictable film that seemingly is about a certain topic and turns out to deliver something completely different. An interesting experiment that pays off very well because at one point you realize to watch a completely different movie than you thought you would. Genius.

The acting was great. I really loved Penelope Cruz who was as expected great. Almodovar truly knows how to put his muse in scene. But also Milena Smit was great and both had a wonderful on screen chemistry. Its a fantastic screenplay and had many good elements like a very decent cinematography and great score.

One little issues I had with it was that it had several loose ends, but I think thats because of the nature of the film and how it is written so I think its nothing big to blame it for. I really enjoyed the characters, although they sometimes made weird decsisions but they were extremely well created. A must see and a typical Pedro Almodovar, although not a very typical movie.